Osterburken is a small town in the Bauland of northern Baden-Württemberg, and the Romans left it one of the most interesting fort sites on the Upper German Limes. The fort here was built in the second century AD, when the frontier was moved forward, and it had an unusual annex fort added later, with walls that ran down the slope toward the stream, making it one of the few double fort complexes on the Limes. Large sections of the walls have been excavated and conserved, and the Roman museum next to the site displays finds from the fort and the civil settlement. The Upper German-Raetian Limes became a UNESCO site in 2005.
The museum's highlight is a sanctuary of beneficiarii, soldiers who served as officials controlling traffic and trade at important points along the frontier. In the 1980s, archaeologists excavating a waterlogged site in the town found dozens of altar stones dedicated by these soldiers, many still standing in their original positions, along with wooden remains of the sanctuary. The altars, with their inscriptions, give a vivid sense of the people who manned the frontier and their religious practices. Osterburken also produced a famous relief of the god Mithras, now in a museum in Karlsruhe.
The riding in the Bauland is relaxed and pleasant. The roads wind through gentle hills, fields and forests, with small villages and good surfaces. The Odenwald, to the north and west, offers more challenging riding, with winding roads through dense forests and deep valleys, while the Jagst and Kocher valleys, to the south, are beautiful river valleys with castles, vineyards and winding roads. Traffic is light, especially on weekdays, but watch out for agricultural vehicles in the fields.
Osterburken is a modest town of some six thousand people with fuel, cafés, a bakery and a few restaurants, and Adelsheim, nearby, has more. Local food includes Grünkern dishes, made from unripe spelt, and Swabian classics such as Maultaschen. Visit the museum, walk around the conserved walls, and look at the altar stones. They are among the most moving testimonies of Roman life on the frontier, and the town makes a pleasant stop for an hour or two.